A possible identification of Asenath, the wife of Joseph

by Damien F. Mackey “Ahaneith was an ancient Egyptian woman, who lived during the First Dynasty of Egypt. She was named after the goddess Neith”. wikipedia.org By an enlargement of the Famine Era of the biblical Joseph - as having occurred in the popularly considered (in part due to the Famine Stela) Third Dynasty (Old Kingdom) reign of Horus Netjerikhet, assisted by his sage, Imhotep (Joseph himself) - I have also included Netjerihedjet (known as Mentuhotep II) of the so-called ‘Middle’ Kingdom’s Eleventh Dynasty, he being favoured by some scholars as being Joseph’s Pharaoh. But the Horus name, Netjerihedjet, with its -djet ending, would lead me further to conclude, in my rather fancifully named article: Taking a Djet to Djoser’s Famine (4) Taking a Djet to Djoser's Famine that my composite pharaoh was also king Djet of the Archaïc period’s First Dynasty, apparently, too, a time of “great famine”: “Manetho states that during the reign of [King Djet], there was a great famine but the Palermo Stone, which reports the flood levels of the Nile … is broken precisely in correspondence with the reign of Djet”. Cairo Top Tours Now, during the reign of this pharaoh, Djet (c. 2980 BC, conventional dating), there existed an important woman, Ahaneith, thought to have been either the king’s wife, or the wife of one of his high officials: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahaneith “Ahaneith was an ancient Egyptian woman, who lived during the First Dynasty of Egypt. She was named after the goddess Neith. The First Dynasty pharaoh Djet was buried in tomb Z in Umm el-Qa'ab and there is a stele bearing Ahaneith's name in that tomb.[1] The stele is named UC 14268.[2] Whether Ahaneith was the wife of the king, a royal official or a relative of the king, is not known”. I tentatively suggest that Ahaneith was the same woman as Asenath, the wife of Joseph (Genesis 41:45): “Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On [Heliopolis], to be his wife”. There may be much more to know about all of this. What would be fitting, though, is the Jewish tradition that Asenath, of Egyptian name, was the daughter of Dinah, the raped daughter of Jacob – for one would expect that the pious Hebrew, Joseph, would have followed his ancestors in marrying a woman of his own race. Here follows the Jewish account of the most intriguing Asenath: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/asenath-midrash-and-aggadah Asenath: Midrash and Aggadah by Tamar Kadari …. In Brief There are two approaches to the issue of Asenath’s descent in the Rabbinic texts. One view presents her as an ethnic Egyptian who converted in order to be married to Joseph, joining a series of positive examples of women converts in the Bible. The second approach argues that Asenath was not an Egyptian by descent, but was from the family of Jacob, directed by God to end up in Egypt so that Joseph would find a suitable wife from among the members of his own family. In either case, Asenath is accepted as part of the family and her sons are accepted as worthy descendants by Jacob. …. Asenath as Part of the Family Asenath is mentioned in the Torah as “the daughter of Poti-phera” (Gen. 41:45), who was married to Joseph in Egypt. The Rabbis found it difficult to accept that Joseph, who withstood the wiles of Potiphar’s wife and proclaimed his loyalty to the Lord in the palace of Pharaoh, would marry a non-Israelite woman. The question of Asenath’s origins has significant consequences for the standing within the Israelite tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, the two sons born to Asenath and Joseph. There are two Rabbinic approaches to the issue of Asenath’s descent. One view presents her as an ethnic Egyptian who converted in order to be married to Joseph. She accepted the belief in the Lord before she was married and raised her children in accordance with the tenets of Judaism. The second approach argues that Asenath was not an Egyptian by descent, but was from the family of Jacob. God directed matters so that she would end up in Egypt, so that Joseph would find a suitable wife from among the members of his own family. Accordingly, Ephraim and Manasseh are worthy descendents, who continue the way of Jacob. Asenath the Convert The traditions that maintain that Asenath was a convert present her as a positive example of conversion, and include her among the devout women converts: Hagar, Zipporah, Shiphrah, Puah, the Daughter Of Pharaoh, Rahab, Ruth and Jael (Midrash Tadshe, Ozar ha-Midrashim [ed. Eisenstein], p. 474). Mackey’s comment: But see my article: Bible critics can overstate idea of ‘enlightened pagan’ (4) Bible critics can overstate idea of 'enlightened pagan' The Rabbis learn from Joseph’s marriage to Asenath that a favorable attitude is to be exhibited to converts, who are to be drawn closer. Thus, Joseph married Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, and Joshua son of Nun, who was a chieftain of the tribe of Ephraim (Num. 13:8), would be descended from this union. The midrash adds that Joseph’s behavior served as an example for both Joshua and David, when they acted charitably with the Gibeonites and drew them closer to Israel (Midrash Samuel [ed. Buber], 28:5, based on Josh. 9 and II Sam. 21:1–9). An additional midrashic dictum notes a number of converts who became members of the families of the righteous leaders of Israel. Thus, Joseph married Asenath, Joshua wed Rahab, Boaz took Ruth for a wife, and Moses married the daughter of Hobab (= Jethro) (Eccl. Rabbah 8:10:1). Asenath the Daughter of Dinah The traditions that trace Asenath to the family of Jacob relate that she was the daughter born to Dinah following her rape by Shechem son of Hamor. Jacob’s sons wanted to kill the infant, lest it be said that there was harlotry in the tents of Jacob. Jacob brought a gold plate and wrote God’s name on it; according to another tradition, he wrote on it the episode with Shechem. Jacob hung the plate around Asenath’s neck and sent her away. God dispatched the angel Michael to bring her to the house of Poti-phera in Egypt; according to yet another tradition, Dinah left Asenath on the wall of Egypt. That day Poti-phera went out for a walk near the wall with his young men, and he heard the infant’s crying. When they brought the baby to him, he saw the plate and the record of the episode. Poti-phera told his servants, “This girl is the daughter of great ones.” He brought her to his home and gave her a wet nurse. Poti-phera’s wife was barren, and she raised Asenath as her own daughter. Consequently, she was called “Asenath daughter of Poti-phera,” for she was raised in the home of Poti-phera and his wife, as if she were their own daughter. This narrative teaches that all is foreseen by God. Each of Jacob’s sons was born together with his future spouse, except for Joseph, who was not born together with his mate, since Asenath daughter of Dinah was fit to be his wife. God directed matters so that Joseph would find a wife when he went down to Egypt, and Asenath was suitable for him (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer [ed. Higger], chaps. 35, 37; Midrash Aggadah [ed. Buber], Gen. 41:45). ….